Iran Pardons Inmates to Mark Prophet’s Birthday, Revolution

By Ladane Nasseri and Yeganeh Salehi -
Jan 29, 2013

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali
Khamenei granted clemency to 1,298 prisoners following a request
from the head of the country’s judiciary.

Khamenei pardoned the inmates or commuted their jail terms
on the occasion of the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad, which
Iran observes today, and ahead of the 34th anniversary of the
Islamic revolution on Feb. 10, according to his website.

The decision came in response to a letter by judiciary
chief Sadegh Larijani, the report said. The prisoners were not
identified and their crimes not specified. The website didn’t
say when they would be released.

It wasn’t clear whether President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s
press adviser, who’s serving six months for the publication of
controversial material, was among those whose sentence had been
reviewed. Ali Akbar Javanfekr, who was imprisoned on Sept. 26,
has written to Khamenei asking for his case to be reconsidered,
lawyer Ghahreman Shojai told the state-run Iranian Students News
Agency.